HMS Kingsmill (K484)

HMS Kingsmill (K484) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort DE-280, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945 and then in the U.S. Navy as USS Kingsmill (DE-280) from August to October 1945.

History
United States
Name: unnamed (DE-280)
Ordered: 25 January 1942[1]
Builder: Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
Laid down: 9 July 1943[2]
Launched: 13 August 1943
Completed: 6 November 1943
Fate: Transferred to United Kingdom 29 October 1943[3]
Acquired: Returned by United Kingdom 22 August 1945
Name: USS Kingsmill (DE-280)
Namesake: British name retained
Commissioned: 22 August 1945
Decommissioned: 26 October 1945
Stricken: 16 November 1945
Fate: Sold 17 February 1947 for scrapping
United Kingdom
Class and type: Captain class frigate
Name: HMS Kingsmill (K484)
Namesake: Admiral Sir Robert Kingsmill, 1st Baronet (1730-1805), British naval officer who was commanding officer of HMS Vigilant at the Battle of Ushant in 1778[4]
Acquired: 29 October 1943[3]
Commissioned: 29 October 1943[1]
Decommissioned: 1945
Fate: Returned to United States 22 August 1945
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,140 tons
Length: 289.5 ft (88.2 m)
Beam: 35 ft (11 m)
Draught: 9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion:
  • Four General Motors 278A 16-cylinder engines
  • GE 7,040 bhp (5,250 kW) generators (4,800 kW)
  • GE electric motors for 6,000 shp (4,500 kW)
  • Two shafts
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)
Range: 5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement: 156
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • SA & SL type radars
  • Type 144 series Asdic
  • MF Direction Finding antenna
  • HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament:
Notes: Pennant number K484

Construction and transfer

The ship was ordered on 25 January 1942[1] as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-280. She was laid down by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1943[2] and launched on 13 August 1943. The United States transferred her to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 29 October 1943.[3]

Service history

Royal Navy, 1943-1945

The ship was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Kingsmill (K484) under the command of Lieutenant George Henry Cook, RN, on 29 October 1943[1] simultaneously with her transfer. She served on patrol and escort duty in the English Channel during World War II. In addition, she supported the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 and took part in Operation Infatuate, the British and Canadian invasion of Walcheren Island in the Netherlands, in November 1944.

The Royal Navy returned Kingsmill to the U.S. Navy on 22 August 1945 at Harwich, England.

U.S. Navy, 1945

The ship was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as USS Kingsmill (DE-280) with Lieutenant Commander George B. Calkins, USN, in command, at Harwich on 22 August 1945 simultaneously with her return. She departed Harwich on 26 August 1945 and steamed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she arrived on 8 September 1945. She remained there until she was decommissioned on 26 October 1945.

Disposal

The U.S. Navy struck Kingsmill from its Naval Vessel Register on 16 November 1945. She was sold on 17 February 1947 for scrapping.

References
  1. uboat.net HMS Kingsmill (K 484)
  2. Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive DE-280/HMS Kingsmill (K.484)
  3. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Kingsmill entry says the ship was transferred on 6 November 1943, but this does not match her commissioning date.
  4. Captain Class Frigate Association HMS Kingsmill K484 (DE 280)


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